Undergraduate students to do internship for 8-10 weeks
University Grants Commission has accepted and approved the draft guidelines making it mandatory for undergraduate students to pursue research internships. According to the guidelines, National Education Policy (NEP) has proposed two types of research internships for undergraduate students. One type is for students who want to pursue the graduation of 4 years’ duration, and the other for the students who want to exist after completing 2 semesters or 4 semesters, that is in the 1st year and the 2nd year of graduation.
For the students, who will be pursuing 4 years’ graduation, will have to do an internship of minimum 20 credit points, out of the 160 credit points of the degree programme. Such students are also allowed to opt for research internships in their 2nd or 4th semester, if they want to. Students willing to exit in the 1st year or 2nd year with a certificate or diploma, will have to do a 8-10 weeks’ research internship program of 10 credit points. The students will be offered internships in the higher educational institutions, research institutions, or research laboratories.
NEP has also mentioned the duration necessary for each internship. According to the guideline, each internship should be pursued for a minimum of 450 hours. A minimum of 45 hours of engagement each week, stands for 1 credit point.
Students opting for a certificate or diploma, will have to do internship of 10 credits, whereas the students willing to pursue 4 years of graduation, are supposed to do research internships of 40 credits, that includes courses including research and analytical tools and techniques (10credits), and dissertation/project work in interdisciplinary / multidisciplinary / trans-disciplinary areas (30 credits).
But the students are given the independence to choose from where they want to pursue the internships, they can either choose other research institutions, or their own institution.